Ghana's independence wasn't declared by Kwame Nkrumah - Speaker

- The speaker of parliament says Ghana's post colonial historical files contain huge mistakes regarding the country's independence struggle

- Professor Mike Ocquaye intimates that it is a lie that Dr. Kwame Nkrumah declared the independence of Ghana

- He want all history textbooks rewrite the true history of Ghana's independence

The speaker of parliament has argued that Dr. Kwame Nkrumah is not the founder of Ghana and also should not be credited for declaring Ghana's independence on 6th March 1957.

According to Professor Mike Ocquaye, Ghana's educational system has over the years been feeding students with false academic information on the true history of Ghana. He wants this to change across all history textbooks.

Making his case at the 40th-anniversary lecture of Prof. Kofi Abrefa Busia, on at the Accra International Conference Centre, Prof Oquaye said the declaration Dr. Nkrumah made was only a teaser at a Convention People’s Party’s rally which preceded the actual declaration of independence later on March 6, 1957, in Parliament.

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“That was a CPP rally and Nkrumah was entitled to let his supporters know that the struggle was in fact ended. Independence was declared hours later in Parliament,” he argued.

Attributing Ghana's independence to the making of Dr. Busia, the speaker of parliament intimated that the second Prime Minister was the man who supported the motion moved by Kwame Nkrumah for independence.

“In this connection, let me say categorically that Nkrumah did not declare independence at the Old Polo Grounds. The motion for independence was supported by Busia and was carried and the Duchess of Kent declared Ghana independent at the National Assembly by the authority of Queen Elizabeth II,” he noted.

Nkrumah's main purpose abroad was to get prepared to win the battle of independence for Ghana. Since he could not fight the anti-colonial fight all by himself, Nkrumah decided to form a strong political party which would help him win the hearts and minds of Ghanaians, who already were resisting colonial rule.

The party was called the Convention People's Party (CPP). The fight for political independence was not an easy one for Nkrumah.

He suffered some arrests by opposing colonial forces. He also was met with grave political opposition from other local politicians who just felt the approach by Nkrumah was very radical.

But despite all these challenges, Nkrumah managed to become Ghana's prime minister in 1952. He kept this position until 1920 when he officially got elected as president of Ghana under the new 1960 Constitution - Ghana's first Constitution before the 1992 Constitution.

Nkrumah's political mission in Ghana never lasted as he got deposed from power through a bloody coup in 1966 championed by an opposing party called the National Liberation Council (NLC).

Despite his overthrow, Kwame Nkrumah was still committed to pursuing his agenda against colonial rule. This dream was achieved in Guinea where he was honored as the co-founder of the country. This move follows Nkrumah's performance in managing to facilitate a massive industrialization agenda.

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Today, although we may not have met Nkrumah in person, we remember him for the construction and commissioning of the Akosombo Dam, Tema Harbour, Tema Motorway, Volta River Authority (VRA), Ghana Broadcasting Company (GBC) and many more.

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Source: YEN.com.gh